Dawn and Ducks: Excellence in Cause Marketing

It is extremely difficult for a company to turn an oil spill into a positive marketing opportunity. However, that is exactly what Dawn did with its Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign. The initiative was not a new idea because Dawn has been donating bottles of dishwashing detergent to save animals from oils spills for decades, but despite saving thousands of animals the efforts received very little attention. This all changed after the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Dawn took this tragedy as an opportunity to up the ante on their campaign and the its strategic timing was crucial. At the time, many people across North America were upset about the devastation caused by the oil spill. Synergy PR believes Dawn was successfully able to swoop in and save the lives of animals and enhance its brand reputation. After the spill, Dawn rolled out an extensive advertising campaign that featured animals being rescued by Dawn dish soap and shed light on wildlife rehabilitation. The dish soaps were repackaged to feature marine animals and shared statistics about wildlife rehabilitation. Additionally, Dawn pledged to donate a dollar per bottle to wildlife conservation efforts if customers entered a code on their unique Dawn Saves Wildlife website. Once on the website, the customer could get information on what else they can do to help.

The Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign is identified as a corporate cause promotion because the goal of the campaign is to educate key audiences on the impact of oil on the environment and make the public aware of wildlife rehabilitation practices. Dawn aims to raise awareness that may lead to action. The company donates to both the Marine Mammal Centre and the International Board Rescue to promote conservation, research and educational programs. Furthermore, the company’s Facebook page provides downloadable lesson plans for teachers and parents to share with children. By educating the next generation, Dawn has a better chance of impacting society’s awareness of the issue and the potential for improvement in the future. 

Dawn has used a variety of different tactics for its cause promotion campaign since the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Synergy PR finds the social media presence Dawn has established in recent years particularly impressive. The social media strategy has created an interactive environment that provides  a wealth of information and directs the reader to other applicable resources. The Facebook page is by far the most well developed and successful medium. The Dawn Everyday Wildlife Champions page strives to create a community of people who are passionate about the cause. Once you "like" the page you can discover or promote wildlife events in your community, connect with others who care about the cause and stay current on new developments. Although the Twitter account has an underwhelming number of followers (less than 5, 000 followers), it has excellent content. The tweets effectively share wildlife conservation stories and news articles. A quick search reveals that many people on Twitter are aware of Dawn's campaign and are sharing their approval of it. Similarly, the YouTube channel features the iconic commercial that started the campaign and links to the partner charities’ websites.

The Synergy PR team believes that this cause promotion campaign definitely meets and exceeds its goals. Dawn took a fresh spin on the trend of environmental protection with the Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign. This cause promotion campaign is so effective because it highlights the product’s core benefits. The dish soap is effective at cutting grease and oil, but is also safe and gentle on skin. This is displayed flawlessly through its advertising campaigns. The advertising demonstrates that that product is equally as effective at saving oil-soaked ducklings as it at cleaning crusty lasagna pans. It implies that if the soap is gentle enough to use on baby animals it is certainly gentle enough for your hands. The connection that Dawn makes works perfectly and positively promotes the brand. The company benefits greatly from this association since people are generally passionate about animals and the environment. It is very likely that this cause promotion campaign has increased brand recognition and loyalty across a variety of demographics for Dawn. Most importantly, this cause promotion allows Dawn to be viewed as more than just a dish soap company. This is something no other competing brand has been able to establish so successfully. It allows Dawn to be seen as a tool that saves the lives of animals and helps clean up the negative effects of environmental disasters.

Dawn’s successful cause promotion campaign has achieved the rare feat of elevating a household cleaner into something more meaningful. Despite the energy industry's best efforts it is likely that there will be more oil spills in the future, the Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign will be relevant for years to come. The association between Dawn dish soap and its wildlife conservation and rehabilitation goals is invaluable. The well-executed campaign was strategically timed to maximize impact and it has had excellent continuing results. In addition to elevating it’s own brand image, Dawn is also providing meaningful contributions to a worthwhile and meaningful cause.